Restaurant Radar: September 2018

We round-up some of the openings to watch this month, including London debuts from Tom Kerridge and Mark Wahlburg (yes really).

Kahani​

Former Tamarind executive chef Peter Joseph is going it alone with the launch of his first solo restaurant on 10 September. Kahani will seat 90 covers and focus on Indian cuisine - with only two curries. Dishes will include the likes of smoked Malabar prawns with coconut and spices; and twists on Western desserts such as a pineapple crème brulee with cinnamon. Joseph was at Tamarind for over a decade, during which time he helped it maintain its Michelin star.

The Falcon​

Former Vinoteca executive chef Kieren Steinborn-Busse will open a restaurant with his wife Natasha in the Hertfordshire village of Buntingford this month. The Falcon will serve British comfort food in what Kieren describes as a “deliberate moving away from overcomplicated, haute cuisine.” Natasha will oversee front of house of the restaurant, which is located within a Grade II listed building. Kieren trained at The Goring, before working under Marco Pierre White at Quo Vadis and then Alain Ducasse at The Sanderson.

Address and website TBC

Kerridge’s Bar & Grill​

Tom Kerridge’s long-awaited London debut finally opens on 10 September, with long-term right hand man Nick Beardshaw managing the grill and the restaurant’s two huge rotisseries. They are promising to serve "timeless" British food at their Corinthia hotel venue in a "smart and serious" dining room. Pitched slightly cheaper than The Hand & Flowers, it will serve fish and chips and pints of real ale, as well as more refined dishes.

Two Lights​

The team behind Michelin-starred Shoreditch restaurant The Clove Club will open a restaurant in Dalston this month in collaboration with American chef Chase Lovecky. Lovecky cooked with Clove Club founder Isaac McHale for three years, following roles at Momofuku in New York and Sydney. McHale describes Two Lights as a neighbourhood restaurant serving modern American food. Dishes will include the likes of beef tartare with togarashi; and lemon sole with charred tomatoes and seaweed.

Wahlburgers​

The burger chain owned by actor Mark Wahlburg and his brothers Paul and Donnie will make its UK debut this month. The two-storey restaurant will launch in Covent Garden, serving a signature list of burgers with sides including macaroni salad; macaroni cheese; and tater tots. The chain has 22 restaurants across the US and its own eponymous reality TV show. Mark himself is expected to be present at the launch, although there is speculation he may be there in hologram format, as opposed to in the flesh.

Blacklock Shoreditch​

The third site of Gordon Ker’s popular chop shop finally opens this month on the site that was Rivington Bar & Grill. Larger - and more salubrious- than Blacklock’s City and Soho restaurants, the new venture will have 95 covers as well as a 30-cover bar area, and will serve similar dishes to those available at its other sites.

Flesh & Buns Fitzrovia​

The second iteration of Bone Daddies founder Ross Shonhan’s meat and bun restaurant and izakaya is coming to Fitzrovia following the success of the Covent Garden original. New dishes include chilli-miso smoked brisket with chipotle miso BBQ sauce and pickled red chillies; and prawn toban yaki with aji amarillo garlic butter. The restaurant will also have a ‘press for pisco’ button to summon a member of the bar staff to make the Peruvian cocktail tableside.

Kricket White City​

September will see Indian restaurant Kricket will open at the Television Centre development in West London, bringing it up three sites. The 140-cover restaurant will repeat chef Will Bowlby and Rik Campbell's formula of finely tuned modern Indian small plates using British ingredients. Kricket White City will join the likes of Homeslice, Bluebird and Patty & Bun, as well as the new Soho House hotel, at the development.

Kym’s​

Andrew Wong’s long awaited Bloomberg Arcade restaurant opens later this month. Kym’s was the name of Andrew’s parents’ Anglo-Cantonese restaurant in Victoria, which opened in 1985. The chef and his wife Nathalie reopened it as modern Chinese restaurant A.Wong in 2012, which has gone on to become one of London’s most exciting and influential restaurants. Wong’s second place will be more informal, offering a smaller ‘grab and go’ menu during lunch service and a more involved evening menu that will include Yunnanese lemongrass salad, peanuts, lettuce, chilli, lime; crispy duck and pancakes with plum sauce; and slow poached soy chicken, ginger relish and rice.

Maison Bab​

The team behind Soho’s Le Bab will launch a second restaurant on 17 September in Covent Garden. Maison Bab is a collaboration with former Le Gavroche chef Manu Canales, who will serve a six-course tasting menu at the site’s hidden fine dining restaurant ‘Kebab Queen’ - which opens later this year. The main part of the restaurant will be a more relaxed, 75-cover affair, spanning two floors and serving a list of eight kebabs, all of which are priced under £10. New dishes on the menu will include miso celeriac shish with pickled crispy onions and toum; and raclette shawarma.

Jolene​

The team behind lauded London restaurants Primeur and Westerns Laundry are launching a new bakery and restaurant in the capital this month. Jeremie Cornetto-Lingenheim and David Gingell are teaming up with farmer Andy Cato to launch Jolene in Newington Green in mid-September. The daily-changing menu will feature breads, pastries, pastas, stews and salads, with dishes chalked up on a blackboard, as at its sister sites. There’ll also be an evening menu Thursday-Sunday, with smaller dishes and sharing plates such as grilled cod on the bone.

Little Kolkata​

Supper-club-turned-restaurant Little Kolkata will open its first permanent site in London’s Covent Garden on 2 September. Co-founders Prabir Chattopadhyay and Biswajit Deb Das will be bringing authentic Bengali cuisine to the table, inspired by Chattopadhyay’s upbringing in Calcutta and Deb Das’s ancestral roots in Bangladesh. Dishes will include sharing plates of maacher cutlet served with the Calcuttan mustard sauce kashundi; chicken liver sautéed with spices and fresh chillies; and Calcutta mishti doi, a baked sweet yoghurt dessert.

Genesis​

The latest addition to East London’s booming vegan restaurant scene comes from the team behind raw food company Raw Imagination. Genesis’ wide-ranging menu will include tacos, burgers and hot dogs made from fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. The Shoreditch site will also offer cold-pressed juices and kombucha, alongside less health-conscious options such as beers and wines.